Residents need to make a concerted effort to ensure
the proper disposal of household chemicals.

A recent
incident in Bergenfield, in which chemicals mixed in with regular trash
created a potentially dangerous situation, brings this matter to the
fore.

As recently reported, a container holding an unknown
chemical or chemicals was crushed in the garbage truck, creating heat
and a potential fire. A toxic gas and a cloud surrounded the truck. The
fire department was notified and responded, as did county HazMat
personnel. Protective gear was worn until the offending chemical could
be isolated and properly removed.

This expenditure of personnel resources and time was
completely unnecessary, and we'd like to attribute that to selfishness,
carelessness or ignorance =97 selfishness in disposing of the material
in the easiest and quickest way possible; carelessness in not checking
what was placed in the regular trash; or ignorance in not knowing proper
procedures.

us_tx: Carbon Monoxide Leak at Dallas Hometown Suites -
KDAF

DALLAS, TEXAS - Earlier
today, Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) responded to a call at the Dallas
Hometown Suites from a man who was feeling dizzy and faint. Paramedics
treated the man and transported him to a local
hospital.

However, a DFR worker soon began to exhibit the same
symptoms, so firefighters immediately suspected that a carbon monoxide
leak had taken place in the building. The firefighters notified DFR's
Hazardous Materials Team (Hazmat).

The residents that were home
at the time quickly evacuated to the Radisson Hotel across the street
while Hazmat shut the gas off to the building and located the
leak.

It's still unknown what started the leak. However,
there were no life threatening injuries during the events, according to
DFR.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Captain Oscar Garcia says a
man walked into the emergency room shortly after 5:30 p.m. complaining
of an itchy arm after opening an envelope and seeing a white powder
inside.

The man was isolated in a room in the emergency room
and the contents of the envelope were placed in a sealed
bag.

A hazardous materials team investigated the substance
and found it non-toxic.

The emergency room was on lockdown for 90 minutes
while hazmat teams investigated.

us_wv: 4 W.Va. workers injured in small chemical
blast

LETART (AP) - Authorities
are investigating a chemical fire and explosion that occurred in a large
trash bin at a Mason County alloy plant.

Four
workers suffered injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening,
and emergency officials say they were taken to Pleasant Valley Hospital
in Point Pleasant for treatment.

The accident happened
Wednesday afternoon at the Felman Production facility between Letart and
New Haven.

Plant manager John Konrady says those injured were
trying to douse the fire.

He says some as-yet unidentified chemicals were put
into the trash bin, then exploded.

The plant makes a steel
oxidizer and alloy additive called
ferrosilicomanganese.

The state Department of Environmental Protection sent
a hazardous material team to the site.

us_tx: Fondren Science evacuated after small lab
fire

The Fondren Science building
was evacuated Tuesday afternoon due to a small lab
fire....

"Within 15 minutes upon fire
personal arriving the fire was contained. THey were able to put the fire
out with sand," said Kent Best of SMU Public Affairs.

Best said that the fire was "about the size of a
wastebasket,"

David Son, an associate
professor of chemistry, a visiting professor and two students were in
the lab when the fire occured. One student suffered minor burns on her
leg and was treated at the University Health Center. No other injuries
were reported.

The fire started as a result
of the disposal of the chemical sodium hydride, said Best. In order to
dispose of the chemical it is poured over ice water, if poured too fast,
it will ignite.

"She poured it a little too
quickly and it did ignite," said Best.

After initially attempting to put out the fire with a
fire extinguisher, Son called 911....

A UW-Madison professor who studies an infectious disease lost
his laboratory privileges for five years after conducting unauthorized
experiments with a potentially dangerous drug-resistant
germ.

One person who worked in
professor Gary Splitter's lab got brucellosis but university officials
don't know if that individual, who has since recovered, caught the
strain used in the unauthorized experiments. Brucellosis is a disease
that is usually found in farm animals but can spread to humans and cause
flu-like symptoms or worse.

"These
are extremely dangerous compounds," UW-Madison Provost Paul DeLuca said.
"They are very highly regulated and we want to be in full compliance
with federal laws."

The 2007
experiments, which the National Institutes of Health calls a "major
action violation," in part prompted the university to beef up its
biological safety oversight. The university was also fined
$40,000.

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